Weather and Traffic

Tropics perk up; plus, NOAA looks back at Hurricane Andrew

After almost a month-long lull, the tropical Atlantic showed signs of life Tuesday with a new invest being tracked and a vigorous low pressure system moving off the coast of Africa.

Invest 98L was at 36N 55W, or 616 miles northeast of Bermuda and was moving toward the northeast at 10-15 mph. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center gave it a 40 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression, or Tropical Storm Ernesto, before it hits cooler Atlantic waters on Wednesday.

Top winds were “at or near gale force,” the NHC said.

Computer forecast models showed 98L moving north-northeast or even due north over the next day or two, with only a possible threat to Newfoundland.

Also on Tuesday, NHC forecasters noted that a 1012 mb low pressure system had moved off the coast of Africa and was producing moderate to isolated strong storms.

Here is Tuesday afternoon’s eastern Atlantic satellite image:

(Credit: NOAA/ NESDIS)

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) held a teleconference Tuesday morning to discuss the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew, which made landfall south of Miami on Aug. 24, 1992. Andrew was one of just three Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the U.S.

Frank Marks, Director of NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division, recalled flying a reconnaissance mission into the storm two days before landfall. He was stunned at how quickly Andrew was intensifying.

“It was already a Category 2 when we were there, considering it had been nothing the day before,” he said. “We were putting these parachuted instrument packages that would sample the temperature, humidity and pressure around the storm.

“We were also sampling the high pressure ridge to the north. It was clear that the high pressure system was solid. It wasn’t weakening, and the storm was going to track west.

“When we arrived in Miami at about 1 a.m. Sunday morning I spoke to somebody and said: ‘This doesn’t look good. This is headed right toward Florida.’ I remember going home and telling my wife: ‘We gotta get ready.'”

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June was the 328th consecutive month that worldwide temperatures beat the 20th century average, according to Chief Meteorologist Jeff Masters at the commercial forecasting service Weather Underground.

The last month global temps dipped below the historical average was February 1985.